The Hidden Sides
by Tikvah
Summary: Everyone have secrets, hidden sides of themselves that only a selected few knows about. If you leave them be, nothing happens but, as Naruto soon finds out, if you uncover them your whole world might change forever. M for later chapters.
1. Caught by the rain

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto I would inject a huge dose of logic into Madara because he desperately needs some. But since I don't, he's probably going to stay stupid along with everything else in the manga that seems to make less and less sense to me.

Warnings: Alternative Universe, so be aware of the OOCness waiting ahead (A talkative-ish Gaara and non-jerk Sasuke OMG what did I do to them O.o) Un Beta'd – word spellchecker is my new best friend. That's all for now, the rating applies to later chapters :)

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**-:- The Hidden Sides -:-**

_**Part one: Sympathy For The Dead**_

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**Chapter I: Caught by the rain  
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Heat. The floor is warm, unnaturally so, underneath his small body. It's coming from downstairs, seeping through the wood and into his skin. He presses his body tightly against the floor underneath the bed, trying hard not to make a sound. His gaze is fixed upon the door that might open up any second, his arm hurts but he is afraid to look anywhere else but the door. It might burst open any time, he can't afford not to pay attention. The moment his eyes leave the door it will open and it has to stay closed, his life depends on keeping the door closed. Sharp smells are overwhelming the air and his body shakes as he slowly takes them in. Ashes and smoke, all around him there's fire, everything burning except for this room. He is quivering; to afraid to even cry and his small heart hammers loudly against his ribs. The sharp smell of fear is everywhere. Everyone was so afraid, they told him to hide so he did, and now he is all alone. He's all alone with no one and nothing to keep him company except for the smell of fear and burning. And the screams. The bitter smell of pain fills the air as the screams reaches him accompanied by the decaying stench of burning bodies.

Then suddenly a different sound reaches his ears, it is faint at first but steadily growing louder. Menacing growls and threatening howls are moving towards him. The smell of fear is getting stronger by the second and he is afraid, so very afraid, as he stares at the door. The sound of sharp claws scraping the floor comes nearer and nearer before reaching a sudden stop and he knows. He knows that the monsters are on the other side of the door just waiting for him to make a mistake and give up his position. Faster and faster tics his little heart and he knows that the second he loses sight of the door it will all be over. Then something grabs him and pulls him backwards, away from the room and away from the door. He tries to fight it, to be free so that he can keep his eyes on the door, but something covers his eyes. The wood creek as the door slowly opens and he fights desperately to get away from the thing holding him. The grip tightens painfully and there's nothing he can do except for one thing.

He screams.

"AAAHHHH!"

The feeling of a scream being ripped from his throat woke Naruto up just in time to hear a loud screeching noise and feel the powerful yank as his body suddenly propelled forward. Then he hit the floor, hard.

"Oi, what's going on back there. Is someone hurt?!"

Quick steps walked over to Naruto and he looked up into an unknown face that was clearly worried about him.

"Hey, kid, you ok? What happened?"

Naruto was confused and it took a couple of seconds for his dazed brain to function again. The first thing he realized was that he wasn't in a burning house, nor his room, in fact when he looked around he came to the conclusion that he wasn't even in a house at all. Instead his mind supplied him with the information that he was currently laying in the middle of the floor on a bus looking up at no one other that the bus driver.

Naruto sat up and scratched the back of his head nervously; this was going to be awkward.

"Heh, well I guess I had a nightmare…" he smiled sheepishly at the driver whos face was quickly changing from worry into confusion and then anger.

"A nightmare?"

Naruto laughed nervously "Well I fell asleep and then-"

"You made me step on the breaks and risk a traffic accident because of a nightmare?! Get back to your seat and make sure to stay awake. And wear the goddamn seatbelt!"

Naruto crawled back into a seat as he watched the driver angrily stalk back to his seat. As the bus started to move again he looked around and immediately wished that he hadn't. Everyone in the bus was staring at him one way or the other, some were laughing quietly and others glared at him. Naruto shrank in his seat and opted to look out through the window instead but outside the rain was pouring down so the sight was nearly zero. He struggled not to fidget in his seat under the eyes of the other passengers but failed. It was almost as if he could feel their eyes crawling on his body like insects, it sort of itched and it made him restless. He suddenly felt a great sympathy with the animals at the zoo being stared at day in and day out. No wonder they were constantly pacing back and forth, seeming stressed behind the glass. After rearranging himself in his seat for the seventh time he decided that he couldn't take it anymore and unless he wanted to make another scene by yelling at the other passengers he had to get off as soon as possible.

The next stop couldn't have come sooner and Naruto drew a deep breath of relief and sipped up his jacket to keep his t-shirt dry as long as possible. He calculated that he probably had a twenty minutes walk until he got home, turned his head up towards the sky and smiled widely. Naruto had always liked the rain; it was like the rain reloaded his power and his chest felt like it was going to burst from all the energy in the air. The tar like smell of asphalt felt fresh and clean and the constant drumming of water against the ground challenged him to try and shout it down. A bit further down the alley on his left side a big puddle was starting to form and after a quick check to make sure that no one was nearby Naruto charged it. He put every ounce of power behind the jump and let out all that building energy in a victory shout before landing.

"woohooo!" he did a little victory dance for himself, that splash was epic. It had reached almost halfway up his chest and Naruto laughed as he felt the rush of excitement fade away. It was such a childish thing to do but he just couldn't help himself. Naruto had a firm belief that adults would feel at least ten times happier about the rain if they would allow themselves to do a really big splash once in a while. He let his gaze wander for the next target and found it next to the corner where the alley was doing a sharp turn to the right; he grinned and took a few deep breaths before charging again.

'_Uzumaki Naruto is coming down the __homestretch and he's moving fast. Only a few meters left before the jump and this is looking good. Ladies and gentlemen we might be witnessing a new world record. He's approaching quickly and getting ready for the big jump, he-'_

Iihhhh!

The high pitched scream immediately snapped Naruto out of his imagination and as he turned the corner he froze.

The first thing that registered was the umbrella, a red one and it was lying upside down on the ground. Then there was someone wearing a hooded jacket, back turned towards Naruto, holding a pair of hands in a tight grip up against the wall. Narutos eyes followed the hands down and found a face twisted by the attempts to break free. It was a girl and her fear was so strong it hit Naruto with the force of a physical punch. The whole alley was saturated with it and combined with the expression on the girls face it made Naruto feel sick, the feeling much too similar to that from his nightmare. Then suddenly their positions shifted a bit and she saw him. She stared at him as he stood there without moving a muscle and Naruto could feel her desperation as if it was his own. Her eyes were screaming for help and Naruto reacted without even a second of thought.

He rushed forward charged by a sudden feeling of anger, a strong current of hot anger telling him that he needed to protect that girl, he needed to save her. The back of the hooded person came closer and Naruto aimed a powerful punch at the head.

He swung his arm but there was nothing there for his fist to connect with and he found himself falling face first towards the ground. He winced a bit at the pain when he braced himself with his hands on the wet asphalt but quickly turned around to face his enemy again.

What he found when looking up into the hooded face was nothing like he had expected. Where he thought there'd be the hard face of someone from the local brute squad there was instead a pale face of a young boy seeming to be close to Naruto's own age. Two large green eyes stared down at Naruto in shocked surprise and slowly the grip on the girl eased up. She yanked herself free and the rapid tap, tap, tap of her high heels quickly disappeared. The attacked didn't even seem to notice that his prey had gotten away, his eyes still staring at Naruto.

He was all alone with the attacker now and Naruto was starting to get really uncomfortable under the intense gaze directed at him. What the hell had he been thinking just rushing in like that? He could at least have called the police first, but no, of course not. Naruto cursed his impulsive nature and swallowed loudly, he was all alone with a guy who just tried to… well something to a girl and there was no one that knew where he was. But he couldn't afford to be afraid and somewhere in the back of his mind a voice reminded him of the energy he had felt earlier. Naruto closed his eyes and focused, if he couldn't be afraid for his own sake then he'd just have to get angry for that girl's sake again, after all offense is said to be the best defense.

He stood up and pointed an accusing finger in the other boy's chest.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?"

The attacker blinked at him a couple of times and Naruto could see the confusion quickly morphing into anger in those green eyes.

"I's none of your business, you shouldn't have interfered."

The voice was cold and hard and Naruto had to steel himself not to be afraid, this kid was dangerous.

"And if I hadn't that girl would be- whatever now. What were you going to do to her?"

"Dead"

"Huh?" The short word temporarily threw Naruto of balance and he tried to step away from the other boy only to find himself backed up against one of the walls.

The attacker directed a cold glare at Naruto. "If you hadn't interfered she'd be dead by now."

Naruto was desperate, he needed to get away from the wall and he needed to get away from this guy as soon as possible. He aimed another punch and leaped forward.

"You fucking monster!"

A burst of pain shot through Narutos arm as his fist connected with the other's jaw line.

"No. I'm not like that!" The pale face of the attacker was twisted with anger and Naruto could feel the rage rolling of him in huge waves. Naruto gulped, he was so screwed right now.

Naruto could see the tension gathering in the other's body before the punch and braced himself for the punch that would come. Then suddenly his attacker whipped around in the direction of the other end of the alley and froze. His body was still tense but his was another kind of tension. Naruto knew what that tension meant. It was fear.

"You need to get out of here" the voice was calm again and betrayed nothing of the worry Naruto could see in the other's body. In the distance faint footsteps could be heard and Naruto saw the other boy shiver at the sound.

"Who's coming?" The words left him in a whisper and the other turned around to look at him again.

"I told you to get out of here. Go."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something but was cut short.

"You don't want to know. Just run away."

The footsteps became louder and Naruto could hear the other guy curse under his breath as he turned towards the sound. From around the corner a man calmly stepped into the alley and towards them. He was quite tall and the t-shirt he wore showed off a well muscled body beneath and the dark blue tribal covering the upper part of his left arm. Dark shoulder length hair complemented his sand colored skin and his chiseled face. He was young, somewhere in his mid twenties and would have been handsome if not for his eyes. The area surrounding the iris was completely black and the eyes themselves a cat like yellow, his pupils strangely diamond shaped. As those eyes wandered over Naruto he felt his skin crawl from the malice clearly visible in them. The man paid him no real attention however and Naruto felt himself release a breath he hadn't realized he was holding as the man turned to the other boy in the alley.

"The girl is not here."

The boy lowered his head to the ground and his voice was not much above a whisper as he started to answer. "I-"

"-You let her get away." The man's voice was sharp like a whiplash and his face clearly pleased as his hand connected with the side of the boy's face.

"You idiot, now they know we're here." Then he turned his head to Naruto again and his face changed into a grin.

"But, you know kid, if you felt like a boy you could have just told me from the beginning." His eyes slowly roamed up and down the length of Naruto's body. "At least you seem to have found a good replacement there. He looks absolutely delicious." The man licked his lips "Heh, he's pretty maybe we can have some fun with him."

He started to move closer to Naruto but was stopped as the boy grabbed his arm.

"Cut it out, he's just a kid"

The man's face momentarily seemed surprised before he yanked his arm free and grinned at Naruto again.

"You're new to this kid so let me show you. There's no harm in playing a bit with the pretty ones. Take your chance and have some fun while you're at it… just a little fun before they die."

The man raised one of his hands and reached towards Naruto who was totally frozen. He wanted so badly to run away but his legs just wouldn't move. He wished he had listened to the other boy and run away when he was told to, he didn't even know why he had stayed there was no reason for him to do that. He wished that he hadn't entered that alley at all, he wish he was back at the bus safely on his way home. But most of all he desperately wished that the man wouldn't touch him, every fiber of his body felt sickened by the thought of that hand on his skin.

Don't touch me, Don't Touch Me, DON'T TOUCH ME! His mind was screaming at him. He opened his mouth to let those words out in the open but the only thing that left his lips was a frightened whisper.

"…don't…" he felt so weak right then so weak and afraid. The man's hand kept coming closer and he closed his eyes in a last attempt to keep it away.

"Hey are you deaf!" the man's hand was harshly swatted away by the other boy who pulled Naruto in behind his back in a protective gesture. "He said he doesn't want you to touch him."

The surprise Naruto felt was reflected on the face of the man who just stared at the two boys for a moment before laughing.

"Hahaha, I get it. You want to keep him to yourself. I can understand that, he certainly is a fine specimen. I'll just go correct your earlier mistake then, have a good time with your little toyboy."

The man started to walk away but turned to glare at them before he left. His voice was filled with anger as he spoke. "But make no mistake, you will be severely punished for this. And I strongly recommend that you remember to come home tonight. It would bring your family much pain not knowing where you are."

For a long time the two boys just stood together in the alley listening to the rain that was still pouring down upon them. Naruto waited and listened intensely but as the man didn't appear to be coming back he felt a great wave of relief coming over him. His hands were scraped, his knuckles bruised, he was soaked to the bone but he was still alive. The coldness of the rain that he hadn't noticed before was overwhelming now and his body shook from it.

The green eyes looked at him filled with concern and two hand landed on his shoulders. "Hey, are you ok?"

Naruto nodded and forced himself to smile at the other boy. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just cold that's all."

The other boy nodded and took off his jacket. He held it out to Naruto who could do nothing but stare for a couple of seconds. Underneath the jacket the guy turned out to have a really thin body and Naruto was surprised by the fact that such a small guy could have the strength he had seen before. The most surprising thing tough was the insanely red hair that covered the other's head, he had never seen anyone with that kind of hair before so he just had to stare at it.

The redhead seemed to take his silence as hesitation because he held out his jacket again. "I know it's not much but please take it. That way you won't be cold anymore."

Naruto hesitantly took the jacket and put it on. "Thanks. For the jacket and for… you know."

The guy nodded. "It's the least I can do."

He started to walk away and had almost reached the end of the alley when Naruto shouted after him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

Naruto didn't know if it was the way his eyes looked when he said it or if it was something else but right then he felt that he couldn't let the other guy leave. For some reason he wanted the other to stay around. He ran up to the other and grabbed his arm.

"That guy before, he made you go after that girl right?" there was no answer but by the look in the redheads eyes Naruto knew he was right.

"Then there's no way I'd let you go back to him." Just thinking about that other man made Narutos skin crawl, there was no way he'd let anyone go back to that person if he could prevent them from doing so.

The green eyes were sad as the boy pried himself loose from Narutos grip. "I have to."

Before he had a chance to think things through Naruto ran forward and blocked the redhead's way.

"You can come with me! I have an apartment not too far from here; you don't have to go back there."

The redhead just shook his head and shoved past Naruto who reached out and grabbed the other's arm again.

"Please! Don't go back there" it was a stupid thing to do, inviting a guy you just recently met into your home. Especially if you met said guy while he was attacking some innocent girl and if said guy had a companion that tried to kill you. Naruto knew it was stupid and dangerous and all that jazz but he also knew that he didn't want the other to leave. Weird as it may be but Naruto just _knew_ that the other would never hurt him and that he didn't want the other to be hurt either.

For a moment they both stood still and the redhead looked up at the sky. "The rain stopped." He was right. The sky was still steel grey but the rain had cleared up almost completely without either of them noticing. He frowned slightly before nodding "ok, I'll go with you."

Naruto smiled at him and pulled his arm.

"Come on, it's this way. I'm Naruto by the way, Uzumaki Naruto."

The redhead turned his head to look at him and seemed to hesitate before he replied "I'm Gaara."

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As they entered the building Naruto noticed him frowning and being very much on the edge. He could understand why, the house wasn't exactly the nicest of places and as they stopped in front of his apartment he suddenly felt very nervous. For some reason he didn't want Gaara to think badly of him for the way he lived so he put his hands behind his head in a confident gesture before unlocking the door.

"It's not much but to me this is home." He waited for Gaara who seemed very hesitant to enter, nervous almost, and bowed deep before he invited Gaara with his best 'circus-director-voice' in order to try and cheer him up.

Carefully he stepped inside and Naruto had to force himself not to laugh at the sight. The confident, angry guy from earlier had been completely replaced by a lost, wide eyed child that seemed to have no idea of what he was supposed to do next. Gaara's red hair was plastered to his face and his wet clothes were stuck to his thin frame, it made Naruto want to take care of him and a warm feeling settled in his stomach as he grabbed Gaara's hand and dragged him towards his room.

"Let's go find ourselves some dry clothes and a pair of towels."

After drying themselves Naruto gathered all of the wet clothes in his arms and turned to leave the room. "I'm just going to put these in the dryer, you just stay here and make yourself comfortable, I won't be long."

Gaara looked at him a long time before slowly nodding and looking out through the window. Naruto flashed him a smile before he ran out and down to the laundry room. The warm feeling in his stomach was pleasantly spreading as he thought about Gaara waiting for him in his room. Something about the redhead made Naruto want to take care of him and knowing that Gaara was now comfortably dry and warm thanks to him made Naruto smile and increase his pace as he raced the stairs back up to the apartment again.

When he flung the door to his room open he was greeted by darkness and Gaara sitting curled up in one of the corners. Worry stirred in his chest as he slowly approached and sat down next to the dark figure.

"Hey, Gaara… you ok? Why all the gloom and doom in here?" He gently nudged Gaara's shoulder.

"Just a bit of migraine, it doesn't go well with the sunlight so I had to cover the windows to stop it from getting worse… sorry about that."

Naruto looked up at the closed curtains and smiled at Gaara. "No worries, it's kinda cozy like this anyway." He paused and looked over at Gaara again. The redheads eyes were closed and his breathing sounded heavy, Naruto could clearly feel how uncomfortable he was right then and it worried him. "Can I get you something, aspirin, water, maybe something to eat?"

Gaara opened the eye closest to Naruto and slowly shook his head. "No it'll be ok. Just stay here."

Naruto nodded and shuffled a bit closer to Gaara who leaned his head against Naruto's as a pillow.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm"

"Tell me something about yourself." The almost-whisper made Naruto smile widely and he started to explain his love for rain in a low voice.

Gaara was a good listener and although Naruto quickly learned that it was more like a monologue than a dialogue between them he didn't mind. He never had a problem with talking but somehow it was different with Gaara, he found that he wasn't just talking for the sake of making a conversation but he really wanted to tell Gaara about himself. Things he never imagined to share just rolled off his tongue and he didn't even worry about it. He explained everything about his background, how he grew up at different orphanages and foster homes because both his parents had died when he was really young. He told Gaara about his brother Sasuke, that he shared the apartment with. He told him how Sasuke wasn't really his brother but they had been together for as far as Naruto could remember, they had been at the same orphanages, had shared foster families and attended the same schools. It didn't matter what other people said, they were family and nothing would ever change that. It didn't matter if he was explaining his everlasting love for ramen or talking about the band he was playing in with his closest friends, Gaara listened to everything he said with genuine interest, making it seem like there was nothing more to the world than the two of them sitting at the floor together, one talking and the other listening. The hours flew by without Naruto noticing until Gaara suddenly straightened up and walked over to the window, opening the curtains. Naruto walked over to him and looked out over Gaara's shoulder, it was getting dark outside and just a hint of orange was still lingering by the horizon.

"I have to go." Gaara's almost monotone voice sounded tired and immediately the need to protect his new friend returned full force to Naruto.

"No, I am not going to let you go back to that guy." He grabbed Gaara's arm to make his point clearer. There was just no way he could let anyone, and Gaara least of all go back to that man. Naruto fought down the cold fear trying to get a grip of him, just the memory of that guy was enough to make him frightened.

Gaara sighed heavily. "I have no other choice."

"Of course you have, there's always another choice don't be stupid Gaara. You don't need to go back there." Naruto was getting frustrated with him, why would anyone willingly return to someone so horrible? There was no feeling of evil from Gaara, just fear, worry and sadness, not like that man who reeked of cruelty and malice. Naruto just couldn't let Gaara go back to that, not when he knew that he had a chance of stopping him.

Gaara turned around and Naruto found himself facing the same cold green eyes from earlier.

"You don't understand, he takes care of me Naruto. I _need_ him to take care of me because otherwise I have no idea of what to do with myself. I'm not like you."

For the umpteenth time that day Naruto acted without thinking and wrapped his arms around Gaara in a protective embrace. "I will take care of you, you can stay here with me and Sasuke and I'll take care of you. Just don't go back there."

Gaara gently pushed him away and sent Naruto a hesitant smile. "You are too kind Naruto."

Naruto felt like performing a small victory dance, he had succeeded in convincing Gaara to stay. He was just about to promise Gaara that he wouldn't regret his decision when he heard the front door open.

"Oh, that's got to be Sasuke. I 'm just going to go get him, promise you'll stay here until I come back? I really want you two to meet each other."

Gaara nodded slowly and Naruto raced into the kitchen to find Sasuke unpacking groceries. His brother paused, looked up at him and raised an eyebrow before continuing unpacking. "What did you do this time?"

"who says I did anything?"

Sasuke turned to look at him again and handed him a bunch of vegetables. "I do. You have that guiltily exited look on your face again. Rinse these will you? they're for supper."

Naruto made a face at the vegetables and put the down in the sink before grabbing Sasuke's shirt and pulling him away from the kitchen.

"Fine, you win. Come on there's someone I want you to meet in my bedroom."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him again and stopped. "If there's a naked person in there I'll stop buying ramen for a month."

"What?!?!"

Sasuke smirked. "You are too easy Naruto, So who is it I'm supposed to meet?"

"It's just a friend I met on my way home, his name's Gaara." Naruto smiled and opened the door.

As soon as he did tough his smile faltered, Gaara was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke stepped into the room and turned to look at him.

"So… I'm just going to assume that this Gaara person is really small or invisible"

Naruto was still a bit shocked not finding Gaara there and looked over to the window, it was standing slightly ajar and it made him frown. He was sure it had been closed earlier.

"He must have climbed out the window…"

"Tch, yeah right, the guy escaped through the window and climbed down a flat concrete wall, with nothing to get a grip on, eight floors before running away." Sasuke closed the window and walked back to his groceries.

"Just so you know, I'm going to add this Gaara person to the 'imaginary friends list'. " Sasuke shouted to him from the kitchen. It made Naruto angry.

When he was younger he had had an extremely vivid imagination and he used to see things no one else saw. Where others saw big boulders he could see huge frogs dressed in armor. One of the supervisors at his third orphanage had white and blue snails in her pockets and two slug horns on her head so he called her the snail princess. Talking trees, a boy made of bugs, nothing was too weird for him and he told Sasuke all the amazing stories of the things he saw. As he grew older the figures started to fade away and the last thing he remembered seeing was a half-fish half-man person. After that incident Sasuke had decided to write down all his imaginary persons on a list just in case Naruto would turn out to be schizophrenic or something, Sasuke liked to be prepared for all possible future scenarios.

But Gaara wasn't like that, Naruto was sure. He was certain that if he would go down to the laundry room he'd find all of Gaara's clothes still in the dryer. Gaara was nothing like the fish-people, Naruto hadn't made him up. Gaara was a real person in some kind of very real trouble. Naruto sighed and leaned his forehead against the cool glass of his window as he looked out over the dark streets of Konoha. He knew almost nothing about Gaara and still he worried about him. The stranger's creepy eyes flashed in his memory and Naruto felt a cold shiver run up his spine. He desperately hoped that Gaara hadn't gone back to that man and wondered about what Gaara had said. '_I need him to take care of me' _It made no sense to Naruto, no sense at all.

Outside the window the first streetlights flickered to life and he reluctantly turned around to go help Sasuke in the kitchen.

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Author's notes: That bus thing happened to me in real life...

anyway, I posted this together with chapter two so to make me happy just click the forward button and keep reading ^^


	2. Captivated

Disclaimer: My masterplan to steal Naruto failed so I still don't own anything.

Warnings: Un beta'd, it's still just me and word spellchecker checking for errors in this. Alternative Universe so some OOC-ness, hmm let's see... some violence, a little bit obsessive behaviour, some pairings (Sakura/Kiba and Shika/Neji) mentioned and I think that's it for now.

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**-:- The Hidden Sides -:-**

_**Part one: Sympathy For The Dead**_

_**

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**Chapter II: Captivated  
**

Gaara raced through the streets of Konoha and glanced up at the now dark sky. There was just barely a trace of color left on the horizon and he frowned as he forced his body to run even faster. No matter what he just couldn't afford to be late. _'I'll take care of you. Just don't go back there.' _The image of pleading blue eyes flashed through Gaara's mind and he shook his head furiously to get rid of it.

What had he been thinking agreeing to follow Naruto to his home like that? It had got to be the most stupid thing he had ever done. What if the apartment hadn't been as close as Naruto said it was? Gaara glanced up at the sky again and suppressed a shiver, he was really lucky the blond had told the truth.

Soon the old construction site he was heading for came into view and he carefully checked the area before climbing the fence surrounding it. He landed with a soft thud on the dirt ground below and looked around once more to see that no one was watching him before running over to the half finished concrete building dominating the area. _'You don't have to go back there'_ again the words from earlier echoed in his head and Gaara frowned as he stepped into the dark building. Wishful thinking like that would get him no closer to achieving his goal.

A loud hissing came rushing towards him and he barely had time to brace himself before he was forcefully slammed into one of the walls by a huge wave of sand. He winced a bit as he felt the abrasive mass crawl underneath his clothes, scraping his skin as it moved to hold him in place, encasing his entire body from the neck down.

"well, well, well decided to finally come home have we?" the voice sounded amused but Gaara knew that it was far from the truth. He turned his head to the side to see the black and yellow eyes of his master glare at him from the shadows.

"You know…" soundlessly the man stepped closer until they were almost face to face. "I do not respond well to disobedience."

The grip around Gaara's body tightened and he gasped as it became harder to breathe.

"I ordered you to do one thing. One small and simple task, I even found her for you, but you couldn't even manage to kill something that weak, it's pathetic!" the eyes narrowed and immediately the coarse material carved deep lines into Gaara's skin. The pained scream echoed in the empty building and Gaara tried his hardest to calm down. He had been through worse than this before, besides it would heal soon enough.

"But that's not all of it, is it Gaara?" his master slowly licked his lips as he stared at the rapidly darkening sand. "Then there was that boy. I can understand wanting to have him for yourself, but don't you dare interrupt me like that ever again. You see, I won't hesitate to take my anger out on _certain_ people."

Gaara felt his eyes widen as fear flooded his mind and a chuckling laughter reached his ears. "Don't worry kid. They're still alive… for now." His master paused to make sure Gaara listened before his face cracked into a sick smile.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Gaara. I let you have your way with that boy and you didn't even _try_ did you? I can tell that you still haven't eaten so don't deny it."

The sand carved deeper into his skin and he bit down hard on his lower lip, drawing blood as he struggled to keep from screaming. His mind was dazed by the throbbing pain in his body and he didn't even reflect upon the words that tumbled out of him. But when he saw the wrath spreading over his master's face and realized what he had just said, he froze. _"He didn't deserve to die" _the words seemed to hang in the air in front of him, mocking him with his own stupidity. But even as the full force of his master's wrath hit him and he could feel his own body breaking he knew that it had been the truth. Out of all the bloodless corpses left in his wake he knew that Naruto was different, he didn't deserve to die because he had returned something to Gaara he thought he had lost forever. He coughed and warm blood trickled down his jaw as he smiled defiantly at his tormentor. Even as the darkness started to claim his mind he smiled because today for the first time in ages he felt alive again. Like he was still human.

* * *

The building was old and worn down, there were small cracks in the walls and Gaara could clearly feel the damp, earthy smell of water damage. Even though he had been here before he couldn't help but to be surprised by the state of the building. This house just didn't seem like somewhere he'd thought the blonde would live, so far Naruto had been nothing but cheerful and lively and houses like this were not meant for happy people. Every town had a neighborhood like it, far from the center of the town with old, broken houses filled with people meant to stay invisible, alcoholics, drug-addicts, criminals, all those who were worth less than dirt in the eyes of society were shipped to places like this. Gaara knew these sorts of neighborhoods very well and had spent more time than he wished to remember prowling their streets driven by that overwhelming _need_.

A memory flashed through his mind and he had to fight the urge to flinch from his master's voice. _'It's all about power Gaara, about control. If you want to be the one in control you have to be able to give in to it. Sure, you can try to fight it and it will work –for a while but then when it finally takes over you'll lose every shred of control you thought you had. And we both knows what happened the last time don't we kid?' _

'_All these bodies are nothing but a means of achieving power, useless unless consumed. Every death is a confirmation of that fact as it feeds us and makes us stronger. I can teach you how to reach your power Gaara, how to take control and never risk losing it again. But you have to do as I say.'_

He shook his head; he had tried, really tried, to do what his master told him to but even so he just kept losing himself to that _monster_, kept losing control. But no more, he wouldn't lose control over it ever again because he was different now. Yesterday Naruto had made him different.

From the rooftop across the road Gaara stared intensely at the window he knew belonged to the blond and frowned as he noticed another large crack in the concrete of the house. It seemed so unfair to place someone like Naruto here, he deserved better.

Gaara frowned deeper as he tried to figure out just exactly what he was doing. The moment his body had healed he found himself trying to find Naruto again and he wasn't really sure why. Ok, to be honest he knew exactly why. It was because Naruto had seen his moment out of control, had seen him just mere seconds away from killing and didn't seem to care. Naruto had seen what the monster inside him was like but even so he wasn't afraid. In Narutos eyes he became a person again, and when he saw himself reflected in those blue eyes he saw a person much stronger than the monster. When Naruto was around he had for the first time actually been in control. Not the mimicked calm he usually had just barely covering the darkness beneath but actual peace, like he was one with himself again.

What confused him was why Naruto would have that effect on him and he needed to find out. Why had Narutos presence made him able to sit calmly inside that small room despite the smell of his blood laying thick in the air? Naruto made him human again and he would do anything to keep that feeling. He wanted to be close again, to have someone look at him, talk with him the way Naruto had done. That was why, when he first felt that strange pull from inside his chest, he just couldn't resist going back to the apartment.

* * *

Gaara checked his surroundings once more to make sure that his hiding place wouldn't be discovered and nodded slowly, it was perfectly safe. The sun had set a couple of hour earlier and since it had been a cloudy day there was no moonlight to brighten the night. Inside the hotel the lights were off on all floors except the fifth and the streetlight which he was standing under was broken. There was no way they would be able to see him here.

He knew there was something wrong with what he was doing but he couldn't care less about that right now. In the past years he had done so many wrongs that one more simply didn't matter, besides this was nothing compared to some his earlier actions. For little over three weeks now, 23 days to be exact, he found himself seeking out Naruto every time he was able to. He had spent hours upon hours outside Naruto's window, watching him as he slept. He still hadn't been able to figure out why but he just knew that he had to be close to the blond, the calmness spreading in his body and mind as he gazed upon Naruto was frighteningly addictive.

He had learned Narutos routines quickly and was now hiding behind the corner of the old hotel where Naruto's band used to practice twice a week. The first time he saw the blond sing he was dumbstruck and the curiosity was overwhelming. Just watching wasn't enough; he needed to hear what Naruto would sound like when singing. He knew it was stupid but once the idea had appeared in his head he just couldn't get rid of it. It wasn't like he was going to just walk in to where the band was, no, all he needed to do was to sneak into the corridor outside and then sneak out again before they finished playing. No one would ever know that he had been there.

He had gone through the whole thing in his mind hundreds of times, just go in, listen and the go out. It was so simple there shouldn't be any problems. He just had to wait until they were all inside and then he could finally satisfy his curiosity. Gaara smiled at the thought and went through the list of people in his head again. Usually the first to arrive was those two girls, one blond and then that girl with pink hair he remembered seeing on a photograph in Narutos apartment. Most times they also had that boy with the huge dog with them. Gaara frowned, that thought made him feel uneasy, what if the dog would catch his scent and alert them that he was there? He shook his head slightly and took a deep breath to calm himself down, considering that he wouldn't be close to the room it would be a highly unlikely situation. Naruto and the one Gaara had identified as Narutos brother Sasuke would be the ones arriving next and then last of all that lazy kid with the weird hair would drive up to the door with his car, bringing all the needed equipment.

A loud barking snapped Gaara out of his thoughts just in time to see the two girls and the dog-boy walking into the building. The blood raced warm inside of him at the sight, finally things were starting to fall in place. Gaara sighed through his nose and leaned back against the concrete wall, only three more left before he could go inside.

Five minutes later he heard the sound of a car approaching and watched as the lazy boy climbed out the front seat. It was weird seeing him there so early and Gaara didn't like it. It wasn't part of the routine and that meant that for some reason tonight was different form all the other nights, and if that change was significant it meant that his plan could be rendered useless. He frowned, he did not like it at all, but the change wasn't the thing that bothered him. The thing that bothered him was that Naruto wasn't there; Naruto wasn't there and Gaara had no idea where he might be.

He knew he should just stay where he was and wait, most likely the blond would show up soon and if he didn't he could always go back to Narutos apartment and check for him there. Judging from what he had learned about the blond's person he had probably just got delayed by another argument with his brother, or eating ramen or something like that. But then again, there was also the possibility that something had happened to him.

Gaara's pulse quickened as uninvited images started to pass through his mind. _Dark, dangerous hands twisted into golden locks as they scraped the head into the ground to keep him from making any noise, crimson leftover of what used to be a body crushed between two mangled cars. _Every image was more gruesome than the previous and something akin to panic crawled under his skin, telling him that he needed to stop. They were too similar, to close to that place in his mind he had to stay away from, it wasn't safe.

His breath came in short gasps as he fought to keep control but he could feel how more and more of it was wrenched out of his hands by the images that were still there. _"It'll be ok, at least we still have each other, right Gaara?". A pair of blue eyes staring frightened at him from beneath golden hair darkened by blood just before he-_

"Sasuke, you jerk!" Gaara's head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice just in time to see his blond coming out from around a corner. The effect was immediate, no more broken blondes, no more pain, just him watching as Naruto and Sasuke walked closer to the hotel entrance.

But there was someone with them. Gaara glared at the newcomer as if he could erase him by doing so. He did not like when things changed and he definitely didn't like that this someone was walking so close to his Naruto. He was somewhat similar to Sasuke with his pale skin and dark hair but at the same time not. He was definitely taller than both Naruto and Sasuke and seemed to be at least a couple of years older. And while Sasukes hair was obviously black his seemed to be more of a really dark brown colour.

For some reason this new person made Gaara feel insecure, something seemed to tell him that he should stay as far away from him as possible but Gaara promptly pushed those thoughts aside. Despite everything he was going to go into that hotel and listen to Naruto as he sang. Nothing was going to change that.

"Don't listen to him, Sasuke is just being an ass as usual. Anyway as I was going to say- oi, are you listening?" Naruto yanked at the jacket of the third person who seemed to have been deep in thought.

"Yes, sorry about that Naruto. Look why don't you guys go ahead inside, I'll be right there I promise." Sasuke just shrugged and Gaara watched how Narutos face changed into a pout as Sasuke dragged him into the building.

Then it happened. The stranger raised his head and turned to stare straight at him and Gaara couldn't help but to back away slightly. There was no way he could be seen from where the stranger stood but that didn't change the fact that goose bumps rose on his arms and that he felt a desperate need to run away and hide somewhere else. As Gaara's eyes met with the dark brown of the other he just _knew_ that the newcomer was watching him. Then as if they had made some kind of agreement he gave a curt nod in Gaara's direction and for a brief moment he caught a glimpse of silver on the strangers face before he turned away and entered the hotel.

It was all his imagination, he was sure; it was nothing more than his nervousness about the plan causing his imagination to freak out a bit. But even so, after ten minutes Gaara still couldn't bring himself to go through those doors.

* * *

"Gaahh! Kiba, stop trying to eat Sakura's face and get your ass over to the drums already!" Naruto stomped his foot and glared at the couple. Sakura giggled a bit as she gently pushed Kiba away from her. "What's the matter Naruto, jealous?"

"Of course he is, I thought you had figured that out by now." Sasuke smirked and Naruto just couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at him.

"Maybe you're the jealous one, besides we all know that even if she wanted to she could never land someone as awesome as me."

Sakura laughed a bit at that and they both smiled with her. It was an old joke between them dating back to the very beginning of their friendship. They had first met when they were around eight years old at one of the numerous orphanages Naruto and Sasuke had been to but after only four months she was adopted and then they didn't see her again until they were fifteen. Naruto didn't really mind the long pause in their friendship though because it was largely thanks to the man that had adopted Sakura all those years ago that he and Sasuke finally had found some stability in their lives.

"Oi, that's not true. I'm awesome." Kiba interrupted faking a hurt face.

"Yes, how could anyone ever overlook the awesomeness of Kiba – the band's one and only non-drumming drummer?" the amused voice was followed by an annoyed huff from Kiba as he saw who had just entered the room.

"Great, the zombie arrives."

"It's nice to see you too Kiba."

"Whatever, let's just do this so I can get out of here."

"You're not fooling anyone Kiba, we all know you two don't hate each other for real." Naruto just smiled at the grimace on Kiba's face. For some reason Kiba and Neji never seemed to fully get along, Naruto honestly couldn't remember a time when they weren't arguing or teasing one another but he knew that it was just for fun. After all, he and Sasuke did pretty much the same thing.

"Right, Neji?" He turned around for confirmation but his smile faltered when he caught the worried look on the other's face.

"Neji, what's wrong?"

"I think I saw someone from my family earlier"

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru walked up to him and gently squeezed Neji's hand. Neji just nodded slowly and pulled Shikamaru to him in a backwards hug. Naruto could see the worry on Shikamaru's face as Neji closed his eyes and rested his head on top of Shikamaru's ponytail.

"I'm sure it was just your imagination, Neji. Besides if they _were_ stupid enough to show up we would all gladly beat the crap out of them for you." Naruto was relieved as Neji nodded and smiled back at him, he hated when one of his friends weren't happy. Neji seemed to be alright for now though as he took his usual place next to Sakura and Ino who weren't playing either.

Tonight was just a regular practice and Naruto almost automatically went through the familiar songs as his mind kept getting sidetracked. He had meant what he said to Neji before, he would do anything for his friends and getting the chance to get back at Neji's family for him was somewhat tempting. Neji had been one of Naruto's first friends, and it was indirectly because of Neji that he and Sasuke had managed to get in touch with Sakura again. He smiled at that thought, he had a lot to be grateful to his friends for whether they knew it or not.

Neji was older than all of them but it was hard to tell going by appearances alone. He was reluctant to talk about anything to do with his past but Naruto had heard and seen enough to be sure he was right in thinking Neji probably had gone through more than most of them. He had grown up in an abusive family but sometime he had had enough and ran away. For several years he had then lived on the streets, surviving god knows how and that was where Naruto had first met him. Back then Neji had saved him and Sasuke from some really bad trouble and Naruto never forgot that so when his own life had stabilized the first thing he had done was to more or less force Neji of the streets and come live with them. It had been hard on all three of them at first, battling malnourishment, drug abuse and insomnia but gradually Neji became better and right now he was sharing an apartment with his boyfriend.

There was always this calm and secure feeling radiating from Neji, as if nothing could ever go wrong with him close by. Naruto enjoyed spending time with Neji, preferably talking since Neji always had the patience to listen to the entire length of whatever the new and exciting idea that had entered his mind was. Sasuke always interrupted and called him stupid or annoying and even if she listened Sakura always stared at him as if she was thinking what Sasuke said out loud.

'_But none of them listen as well as Gaara though' _the thought flashed through his mind accompanied by a guilty feeling as he thought of the clothes he still had at home. These past weeks thoughts of Gaara had been occupying his mind frequently, he looked over at the sofa where Neji was seated and silently wondered if maybe Gaara had a past similar to Neji's. There was something that made him feel they were somehow alike and if he could only find Gaara again maybe he could do the same for him as he had done for Neji. He smiled; yes that was a nice thought.

* * *

"Ok seriously, let's just pack up and go home." Kiba called out frustrated from behind the drums. "I mean we could stay another hour but that's just wasting time, this clearly isn't working today."

Naruto spun around and gave him a surprised look. "I think we're doing great, what's the problem?"

"Of course you do. The problem is that he" Kiba jerked his head toward Shikamaru "is completely distracted by his boyfriend over there, you're acting like you had your mind kidnapped by aliens or something and you "he pointed a finger at Sasuke, was quiet for a moment and then sighed. "Ok I got nothing, you're great as always"

"Thanks Kiba." Sasuke smirked and removed his guitar. "and he does have a point Naruto, you two are clearly not into doing this right now so it's sort of pointless staying since we won't get anything done anyway."

Naruto sighed, he knew it wasn't fair on them to not pay attention to what he was doing but he just couldn't get the thoughts of Gaara out of his head. "You're the smart one, what do you say?" he looked over at their bassist even though he knew what the answer would be.

Shikamaru shrugged slightly, yawned and glanced over to where Neji was sitting. "I wouldn't mind leaving early."

"Thought so" Naruto smiled and started to help the rest of the gang pack all their stuff back into Shikamaru's car.

Ten minutes later as Naruto threw the last cable into the passenger seat Neji grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, he didn't say anything but Naruto could sense that there was still something bothering him and waited for Neji to speak. They were well out of hearing distance from the other but Neji still kept his voice low.

"Naruto… you wouldn't happen to know a guy your age, thin body, red hair, green eyes, would you?"

The image of Gaara standing looking lost inside his room immediately flashed through Narutos mind but there was something that made him reluctant to tell Neji about him. He shook his head and Neji frowned slightly.

"Are you sure?"

Another memory of Gaara surfaced in his mind, a scared tired boy sitting hunched in the dark corner of Naruto's room, and again Naruto felt that he just had to protect him. Even if it wasn't like him to lie to his friends he had to keep Gaara a secret.

"Yep, I think I would remember someone like that."

Neji's dark brown eyes searched his for a moment which almost made him feel nervous before finally he nodded and closed his eyes. "ok"

"Why do you ask?"

Neji just shook his head "No particular reason, just someone I met once." He caught Narutos eyes again and Naruto could feel the seriousness in them. "Just, be careful on your way home, ok? Don't leave Sasuke's side, it's a bad neighborhood." He paused and turned his head to look down the road. "You never know what's out there."

Naruto just stood still and watched as Neji walked back to the car and drove off with Shikamaru.

"So what was that all about" Sasuke came up to him, looking curious.

"I honestly have no idea, but I think Neji's getting paranoid."

"Hn, I'm not surprised. Let's go."

Naruto shrugged and walked silently by Sasuke's side. What Sasuke said was true, it wouldn't be surprising if Neji was a bit paranoid after thinking he saw his family since he spent most of his life constantly running away from them. It still made no sense for him to start asking about someone like Gaara though, unless Gaara was part of Neji's family… Naruto shook his head, that wasn't possible. A shiver traveled up his spine as he suddenly remembered the man Gaara had called his master. Maybe Neji had been working for him too and met Gaara there… he sighed, that didn't really make any sense either.

"Don't think too hard or you'll hurt your tiny mind" Sasuke nudged his shoulder gently with his trademark smirk which made Naruto grin back at him. Whatever it was between Neji and Gaara it could wait until after he had finished beaten Sasuke for saying he was stupid.

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be and although I have rewritten it four (!!!) times I'm still not completely happy with it but I want to move on so it will just have to stay the way it is for now x]

The basic idea for this story has been in my mind for ages so during the holiday I decided to actually sit down and write my story. But just as I had started the evil plotbunnies launched a massive attack on me and what began as an oneshot quickly grew into a chapter story. If everything goes as planned this will probably be something like 25 – 30 chapters long and I'm really excited about it since it's my first story on that scale. Wish me luck ^^


	3. Invited

Disclaimer: You know that really popular manga/anime called Naruto? I don't own it.

Warnings: AU so people are going to be a bit OOC, Un beta'd but I did go through it with my trusty friend Word Spellchecker a couple of times.

* * *

**-:- The Hidden Sides -:-**

_**Part one: Sympathy For The Dead**_

_**

* * *

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**Chapter III: Invited  
**

He is running.

Every breath he takes burns his throat and his legs hurt but he has to keep running. His mouth is filled with the bitter taste of blood and he feels like he is about to throw up any second now but he can't stop, If he does those hunting him will win for sure. T

he scent of murky water hangs in the air and when he looks down at his feet he can see the ground is covered by a layer of rain. Water stings his skin as it propels from the sky but he has to keep running, faster, always faster. He skids around a corner and there he is, the man with the cold eyes. The man smiles but the smile just won't stop growing. It crawls up his cheeks towards his ears and then it opens, slowly the sharp teeth beneath break apart, strands of drool still connecting them. _'_

_Be careful on your way home…it's a bad neighborhood'_ the voice echoes through the alley as he turns around and starts running again. The water splash around his feet and he feels himself slowing down as the surface slowly but surely rises. He keeps running but the alley is a never ending labyrinth, every corner reveals new paths and dead ends. The liquid around his body is darkening quickly and he can tell, from the warmth and the metallic smell, that it's not water anymore.

_'It's a bad neighborhood'_ His feet has stopped moving and the liquid rapidly draws him in deeper. _'Be careful'_ it reaches his chest _'be careful'_ his neck '_BE CAREFUL!' _ He's sinking, no falling, fast towards the bottom. His landing is hard, the wooden floor beneath his body scorching hot.

Cries of pain mingle with sad howls and his little body shakes with fear. The foul stench of burning fur makes him throw up as he feels their fear and anger growing by the minute. He can see them throwing themselves into the flames where their enemy is hiding. A heavy body lands beside him and he feels a shrill cry forcing itself through his sore throat. Blue eyes stare at him frightened and the voice is sharp as a whiplash '_Get out of here, hide somewhere safe. Run!'_ he has no choice but to obey that voice.

His mouth tastes like blood and his heart is ticking fast, fast. He hugs himself tightly and keeps his frightened eyes glued on the door. The handle pushes down and a whimper passes his lips before he has time to stop it. Soundlessly the door opens and he presses his eyes shut in a last attempt to escape. But then a faint scent reaches him through the rest and he feels relief wash over him as that soft warmth he's so familiar with lifts him up and carries him away from the chaos.

'_I need you to promise you'll take care of him.'_ He is held tightly as she talks to someone.

'_If I do this I will consider my debt to you cleared'_ he does not know this voice but he feels her nod in answer to it. The crystal of his, no wait, her necklace dingles from the movement and he grabs it as he hold his ear tightly pressed to her body, listening to her heart beating; hopeful, afraid and relieved at the same time but then he is torn away from her and he struggles against the grip but can do nothing as she walks away from him.

He is running.

_'Be careful'_ the voice bounces of the walls of the alley that towers above him and he quickly turns yet another corner. He is looking for someone, someone important. He turns right and comes face to face with himself.

A mirror. Slowly he steps closer and puts his hand on the glass following the reflections arm up to meet with a pair of green eyes. The boy on the other side is not alone. A dark silhouette wraps its arms around the boy's chest and suddenly he's having trouble breathing. He turns around but there's nothing behind him.

'_Help me'_ the two words taking shape over and over again on the boy's lips. He wants to, no, he has to find a way to help. He hammers his hands hard on the glass as the boy keeps calling out for him. Then a crack appears and he watches horrified as the crack grows, splitting the boy on the other side into pieces. He knows then who the boy is and as the fractured shards come crashing down around him they are crying out for him. _'Naruto… Naruto… Naruto!'_

* * *

Gaara winced as he put a bit too much weight on his left arm; it still hadn't fully healed from the last time he was home. His master had had a fit when he found out that Gaara was still following Naruto around but after punishing him several times without the result he was looking for he seemed to have changed his mind. Gaara was still reprimanded for showing such great interest in a single human but at the same time it seemed to amuse his master. For now, as long as he returned home when he was told to do so, his master let him be.

The climb up to Narutos window was hard but not impossible and it was well worth the effort to see his blond up close. A couple of minutes ago he had stirred and kicked the cover out of the bed but now he seemed to be deep asleep again. He was sprawled out on his stomach, wearing only a pair of pajamas pants, and even through the blue hues of night there seemed to linger some golden glow in his skin and hair.

Naruto always looked so calm when he was asleep and Gaara sometimes felt himself wonder what it felt like to dream as Naruto did. It was such an easy thing to take for granted, dreaming, and back when he still did he had never paid them any attention. It had been months since he slept the last time, his body had no need for sleep anymore. He was still able to, but even when he did sleep the dreams seemed to have gone away forever. Now he just closed his eyes and then woke up again at the time he had decided to, it was like his body kept track of the time by itself. It didn't matter for how long he had been without, or for how long he intended to stay asleep, he always woke up the exact time he had told himself to. It wasn't really so that he missed his dreams but they had been part of his old self and therefore he felt sad to find himself without them.

A small jolt suddenly traveled through the sleeping body and Gaara frowned as he watched Naruto start tossing and turning on the bed. He put his hands against the glass of the window and tried to ignore the small stinging in his palms telling him he didn't have permission to get any closer.

Gaara knew a nightmare when he saw one and instantly wanted to reach inside the room and wake Naruto up but his stinging palms told him it would be impossible.

Sweat glittered on the golden skin and it hurt him to just watch but at the same time he couldn't turn his eyes away from the sight. A whimpering sound reached his ears and Gaara's throat painfully constricted as he watched a tear trickle down Naruto's face.

Something happened then, for a short moment the image of another crying blond overlapped the present and nausea spread through his body before the image was pushed away. He frowned, he wasn't allowed to go there. It wasn't safe.

Another whimper reached him and he momentarily closed his eyes to try and shield himself. Naruto was crying.

_His_ Naruto was crying and Gaara couldn't do anything to stop it. Just like before.

_Deep blue eyes brimmed with tears and he had to make them stop. He needed to make them stop before something bad happened. Something, anything. He just needed the crying to stop. _

Pain shot through his arm and Gaara blinked rapidly a couple of times to make sense of what was happening. Inside the window Naruto suddenly sat up in the bed and climbed out of it.

Gaara felt confused, the crying was gone but what had he done to make it go away? He held up his hand and looked at it, had he been pounding the window? He grabbed his head with his hand and tried to think. There was something not right with his memory, it kept throwing him of balance and making him space out short periods of time, he knew it was his masters fault somehow.

Gaara frowned and fought the increasing nausea. His master had done something and he wanted to know what but every time he tried to think about it the nausea forced him to stop before he could figure anything out. He sighed and shook his head, it was best to not think about it at all.

The glass under his other hand moved and Gaara jerked his head up only to find himself face to face with Naruto. He knew he should run away, he should run away fast as hell and hope that the blond would have forgotten about him in the morning.

'_Run, get out of here now!'_ his mind was frantic but Gaara just couldn't tear himself away. Instead he watched as a smile grew on Naruto's face.

It was the same smile as before. Despite the weeks that had passed it hadn't changed. In the blue hues of Narutos eyes Gaara could see himself and the same strange calmness he had been searching for since their first meeting returned. He wasn't a monster, just himself, just -

"Gaara!"

He barely had time to react before Naruto grabbed him and tried to pull him in through the window. He struggled to get away, ready for the excruciating pain of the curse to strike him any second but Naruto had the advantage and Gaara felt his weakened left arm being pulled inside. He snapped his eyes closed in an attempt to block out the inevitable pain.

But nothing happened. Absolutely nothing happened and he found himself releasing a deep breath, momentarily relaxing. He shouldn't have. Next thing he knew he was forcefully yanked through the window and ended up crashing to the floor with Naruto beneath him.

His first reaction was to immediately get as far away as possible but when he looked down on Naruto's face that changed. The bright blue eyes were closed and Naruto still hadn't moved at all.

"Naruto?" his voice was low at first but grew in strength each time he repeated the name, shaking the blonde's shoulders fiercely. He had to wake up, any moment now he would come back to consciousness and it would be alright again.

Guilt spread bitterly in his mouth, followed by that peculiar feeling he always felt accompany his hunger. He vaguely felt his arm heal itself and panic crawled in his muscles, urging him to try harder. He called out Narutos name again and forced himself to stop shaking the blonds shoulders. What if he had gotten a concussion? Then he had just made it worse. Gaara cursed and picked Naruto up from the floor, if Naruto had a concussion he needed a hospital, there was no way he was going to leave his Naruto like this.

Gaara was already halfway to the window when a small sound made him freeze up. He frowned and looked down at Naruto in his arms, what he had heard just now couldn't be real; it had to be his imagination. But then Naruto shifted ever so slightly and the sound came again. Gaara felt his eyebrow twitch, Naruto was snoring.

Unceremoniously he dumped Narutos sleeping form back on the bed and walked back to the window. He shouldn't stay any longer, he knew this but when he turned his head to get one last glance of Naruto he sighed in defeat and slowly sat down on the floor.

He shouldn't stay, but he wanted to.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and stared emptily up at the roof while waiting for the last pieces of his conscious to fall back into place. He had always been a heavy sleeper and needed time to collect himself after waking up.

'_There's someone else here' _

Naruto didn't move, the feeling that had struck him the moment he opened his eyes told him the thought that had just crossed his mind was true, he couldn't see or hear them but he just knew he wasn't alone. He knew the fact that there was someone else in his bedroom in the middle of the night should scare him but the fear never came. He supposed, since this someone didn't feel like a threat, that it didn't make much of a difference, it was just another fact about his surroundings falling into place as his mind woke up.

Sitting up slowly he immediately spotted his visitor sitting beneath the bedroom window. For a short moment it made Naruto consider the possibility that he was still asleep. He had been waiting and wishing for Gaara to return such a long time that it seemed surreal to see him leaning against the wall in the exact same way he had been a month ago, like the image of Gaara in his mind had somehow escaped and decided to settle down in his room instead.

But he wasn't asleep; although Naruto wasn't sure he could say the same thing about his guest. Despite him rustling the sheets and moving around in the creaking bed Gaara hadn't moved at all. Naruto didn't want to disturb him and was considering crawling back under the covers, waiting until Gaara woke up by himself, but he just couldn't resist whispering his name.

"Gaara?" a pair of green eyes opened and caught his own a moment before slowly closing again, the only sign the redhead had heard him at all.

"You came back." Naruto could feel the smile growing on his face as Gaara opened his eyes to look at him again.

"Yeah"

The green of Gaaras eyes seemed almost glowing in the moonlight but his voice sounded tired and he still hadn't moved from his position under the window. He seemed to be a bit smaller than Naruto remembered him to be but maybe that was just because the clothes he had on wasn't his size. Gaara was still wearing the clothes he had borrowed from him and while Naruto was a bit bulkier than Gaara he was also shorter which made the sweatpants Gaara had on a bit too short and the T-shirt a bit too lose.

It did look a bit funny and Naruto probably would have giggled at the sight if it wasn't for the uncomforting feeling settling in his stomach. Gaara still had his clothes on because Naruto still had Gaaras packed away in his room along with his shoes and jacket. Naruto looked at Gaara's naked arms and feet and shivered slightly, it had to be freezing walking around like that, no wonder Gaara decided to come back.

"I still have all your clothes… " he quickly brought them over to Gaara who just kept looking at him strangely.

"Here, just take them." Carefully he took back the clothes and gave Naruto a small nod as thanks. Naruto could sense that Gaara was tense about something but at least he hadn't tried to leave yet which had to be a good sign.

After staring at each other for a while he sat down next to Gaara and absently scratched the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous. "So… how long have you been sitting here?"

Gaara shrugged slightly and shook his head.

Naruto sighed silently and stared up at the ceiling. There were tons of questions buzzing inside his head that he wanted but couldn't ask because he was certain it would make Gaara leave. He really wanted to help somehow but for once he had no idea of what he should do to make it better. Usually he wouldn't even have to think about it, he just instinctively knew what the people around him needed him to say or do but with Gaara it was different. He still sensed things about the other but it wasn't the same, like he needed to learn a whole new language in order to understand the boy beside him.

He turned his head to Gaara and smiled "I'm glad you came back" it was the truth. Having Gaara back really did make him happy.

The body next to his shifted and Naruto could tell that he had just made Gaara feel uncomfortable; he probably believed he would try and force him to stay again. Sure, he wanted to, but he would never actually do it. From the experience he had with Neji he knew that he would never be able to do something unless Gaara was willing to accept his help. Right now, the only thing he wanted was to spend some time with Gaara, get to know him better.

"I should go" Gaara suddenly stood up and turned to the window but there was something hesitant in his movements like he wanted to offer Naruto a chance to object.

"If I promise not to ask any questions, will you stay?"

The green eyes immediately shifted to him and Naruto could clearly see Gaara struggling to make a decision. Anger and frustration played in the green before quickly shifting to confusion and something like fear.

"I promise I won't ask about stuff, just stay for a while." Naruto grabbed gaara's wrist and gently held him in place.

Gaara frowned "Why?"

"Because I missed talking to you"

The green eyes stared at him confused but there was no resistance when he tugged the arm he was holding to make Gaara sit down again. "Ok?"

The redhead was quiet but then Naruto could see a small smile play at the corners of his lips as he nodded and finally seemed to relax. "Ok."

* * *

"Is that your family?"

Naruto paused in the middle of a sentence, surprised by the question since it was the first thing Gaara had said longer than two words since Naruto convinced him to stay. He followed the Redheads gaze to the picture on his nightstand and smiled.

"Yeah it is. At least I guess you could say so"

Gaara nodded, still staring at the picture and leaned his head slightly to the side.

_Curious. _Naruto smiled again as he reached for the photo and handed it over. He was definitely getting better at reading Gaara already.

"Ok so here's Sasuke." His finger gently tapped the glass of the frame, surprised by how carefully Gaara held it. As if he knew how much Naruto treasured it. "I still think you two should meet sometime. He does come off as an arrogant jerk to most but once you get to know him you learn to ignore that. He believes I made you up by the way."

Gaara quirked and eyebrow and smirked at him. "Maybe you did."

Naruto just shrugged and moved his finger over the photo again. "This here is Sakura. We spent all our time together at one of the orphanages before she got adopted; we were like the soap-opera version of the three musketeers … or something."

Gaara cocked his head in question and Naruto felt himself blush slightly.

"It's kind of stupid but we were just kids back then so um..yeah." He took a short breath "I liked her, she thought I was an annoying idiot. She in turn liked Sasuke who hated her because she kept following him around all the time and was pissed at her because I wanted to spend time with her instead of him."

He always felt slightly embarrassed thinking back on his childish crush and how he had terrorized Sakura with all kinds of silly actions to prove his undying love for her.

"Anyway, a couple of months later Kakashi" he touched the picture again "shows up and adopts her away from us and we didn't see her again for almost seven years. She used to be this really sweet sort of shy girl but she's changed a lot since then, I guess we all did, anyway if you ever meet her don't make her angry at you. She's lethal, seriously. Kakashi is head of the canine unit here in Konoha and he has taught her tons of self defense and martial arts stuff."

"So you don't like him?" Gaara frowned at the image of the man, like he was considering whether or not he should dislike Kakashi too.

"What? No, I do. Kakashi's really great, a bit quirky sometimes but once you get past that he's pretty cool. He's the one that fixed so that Sasuke and I could have this apartment and stuff." Naruto hurriedly explained. The idea of Gaara disliking someone out of principle because he did was kind of amusing, apparently the redhead was fiercely loyal once you got him on your side, but in this case it wasn't needed.

He took the photo back from Gaara and looked down at the odd figure who was Kakashi, smiling while letting his memories take him back in time.

"You know, the first time we met was just a couple of years ago. It's sort of funny actually, Sasuke and I was on the run from this really creepy guy we lived with back then and then we ended up getting talked into doing this warehouse break in thing. It didn't go very well, before we knew it these huge dogs were coming right at us. And that was the end of our careers as master criminals."

Gaara quirked one of his eyebrow slightly "_You _tried to rob a warehouse?"

Naruto laughed a bit embarrassed, in hindsight the whole thing sounded stupid even to his ears, and felt his face heat up a bit.

"Well yeah but that's not the point. The point is that Sasuke and I were convinced we were going to get sent right back to the creep we had run from , that's what any normal person would have done but instead Kakashi made sure the creep lost custody over us and signed us up for this experimental support program social services was trying out. So instead of going to prison we get to have our own place and take care of ourselves provided we show up for our 'support sessions' three times a week."

He let his eyes sweep across his room and noticed Gaara mimicking his actions. "It's not much, this place, I know, but it's _ours_ you know?" His voice trailed off "I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"It must be nice…"

Naruto just barely caught the silent words and had to bite the inside of his cheek not to let out any of the questions tickling his tongue. Where did Gaara live? Was he alone? Did he have a family, if so, where were they? The dark rings round them made his green eyes seem so solemn and Naruto immediately tried to find something to talk about that would take away that look, if only for a moment.

He put the picture back on the nightstand and took out another which he handed to Gaara. He seemed happy as long as Naruto kept talking so that was what he was going to do and there really wasn't anything he enjoyed talking about more than his friends.

The photo was his second favorite to the one he had just shown, everyone of his closest friends present and looking genuinely happy joking around in the luxury suite of the old hotel.

"Ok so Sakura and Sasuke you already know, the pineapple head over here's –"

"Who is he?" Gaara's short tone cut him off and Naruto was surprised to see him pointing at Neji.

"Neji, what about him?"

"Is he your friend?" The tone of Gaara's voice was suddenly guarded and settled cold inside Narutos stomach. So Neji really had been asking about Gaara earlier and now Gaara asked about him in return but Naruto has no idea why and it unsettled him.

"Yes, he is." Naruto noticed Gaara frowning at his answer and immediately it triggered something defensive in him. Because Neji was his friend, Neji was his friend who has been through tons of shit and doesn't deserve people frowning at the sound of his name.

"He was asking about you. How do you know each other?" His tone came out short and he doesn't notice how his question makes Gaara tense.

"We don't." Green eyes lingered on his face and the thousand questions fighting for space inside his mind must have shown on his face because as he stands up Gaara shrugs slightly. "I've just seen him around sometimes."

Naruto watched silently as Gaara looked out the window before turning towards him. "I have to go"

"Why?"

At first he thinks Gaara isn't going to answer his question but the redhead pauses in the middle of changing clothes. "I have to be back before Shukaku wakes up"

Naruto didn't need an explanation to know who Gaara was talking about; the image of those cold eyes forced a disgusted shiver down his spine.

"Ok" He swallowed his feeling as he stood up to face Gaara "just promise that you'll come back."

A warmth he hadn't seen before passed in the green eyes and Gaara gave him a small nod before he climbed out the window into the soft grey hues that signaled the dawn of a new day.

* * *

Author's notes: First I want to give a HUGE thanks to **Talentless Freak, YamiTenshi** , **experiment13** and **TigrezzTail **who sent me a review for the last post, you rock!

Second I am really, really sorry that it has taken me this long to update. Gomen!! There's a good explanation though, last month I had a minor skiing accident causing a tendon in my thumb to snap. That coupled with the usual hindrance called real life (homework, friendship drama etc. you know the drill) equals painfully slow progress in writing this story :/

The good news is that not being able to write as much as I want somehow seemed to increase the number of plot bunnies in my head. So once my hand is functioning as it's supposed to again I have several ideas for fics just waiting to be written ^^

I love you guys, thank you so much for reading.

AN#2: Just fixed some small errors (24/3 2010) thanks goes to YamiTenshi for pointing it out to me


	4. Passing time

Hi everyone! Finally I return and after what seems like an eternity of absence from and this story.

I'm beginning to realize how annoying it is when posting an MC story to write this in the beginning of every single chapter so I'm just gonna go ahead and do it real and proper for once, also I'm getting lazy with warnings so unless there's a particularly bad chapter up ahead, in which case I'll throw you one as a heads up, I think you know what to be aware of (AU so some ooc-ness, M/M relationship, violence etc.)

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction, written solely for my own amusement. I do not own any part of the Naruto franchise. I make no profit from this writing.

* * *

**-:- The Hidden Sides -:-**

_**Part one: Sympathy For The Dead**_

* * *

**Chapter IV: Passing time**

Gaara kept his promise. How could he not when it was Naruto asking him to? It had been a long time since anyone had wanted to have him around the way Naruto seemed to. Naruto _wanted_ to spend time with him, Naruto _wanted_ to talk to him. And even though he couldn't return the favor and share even a fraction of himself compared to all the things the blond revealed, Naruto still wanted him to come back.

So he did and as summer passed into autumn Narutos face changed from surprise into a welcoming smile whenever he knocked at the window, asking to be let inside. A couple of times Naruto had tried to convince him to stay. He didn't need the help Naruto offered but couldn't make himself stop Naruto from trying.

The gesture made him feel strangely treasured.

* * *

"So what's on the menu tonight?" Naruto peered out over the aisles of the store and tried to hold back the yawn but failed, grocery shopping was soo boring.

Sasuke sent him one of his Naruto exclusive half affectionate half annoyed glares before he shrugged nonchalantly and reached for a new box of cereals. "We can have ramen if you want"

Sasuke never appreciated being cuddled with in public but Naruto couldn't care less, and for once even though people startled by his happy squeal gave them strange glares Sasuke didn't push him away.

Sasuke didn't say anything out loud and he never would, that was just the way he worked, but they had spent their entire lives in tune with one another so when he offered to have ramen a third time that week it was obvious to Naruto that Sasuke was seriously worried about him.

He knew Sasuke had noticed his changing habits and from time to time he had felt a fleeting worry pass through Sasuke but it was nothing compared to what that offer of ramen meant. He wanted to tell Sasuke about Gaara, and he was going too – soon, but for now he smiled and hugged his brother just a little bit tighter.

* * *

Gaara quickly decided that he loved autumn, not because of the way the nights grew longer but because of all the storms moving over Konoha. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes against the falling water. Standing next to the gate entrance to Naruto's school he knew he wouldn't have to wait long. The splashing sound of running footsteps made him turn and as he watched the energetic blond running towards him through the heavy downpour he felt a smile spread over his face.

It was going to rain the entire day.

* * *

"Hey, wake up."

Naruto probably would have ignored the soft voice if it wasn't for the hard poke in his ribs accompanying every word. Tiredly he yanked his eyes open and glared at the one who had interrupted his sleep surprised to find Sasukes dark eyes staring at him. He quickly dropped the glare and looked around the room he was in. Oh right. School + lecture = no sleeping. Naruto frowned; he hadn't even realized that he was sleeping until waking up.

Sasuke poked him in the ribs again. "You ok?" he dropped a glance to Naruto's nonexistent notes.

"Yeah… mind if I copy the stuff I missed?"

Sasuke shrugged and Naruto grabbed the notes, lightly tugging on them when Sasuke didn't let go. He pulled on the notes again, harder this time.

"Sasuke…" he growled silently while trying his best to imitate the death glare Sasuke used to give him whenever he messed around. Apparently it didn't work as Sasuke's eyes looked at him calmly still not letting go.

"If there was something wrong… you would tell me right?"

"Yeah sure, whatever just give me the stupid notes already."

"Naru…" Sasuke's voice was unusually soft.

He frowned slightly, the worry leaking from Sasuke onto his skin made him irritated and he had to stop an impulse of trying to physically shake it off.

"Don't look at me like that."

The hurt surprise was clear on Sasukes face and Naruto sighed heavily as he turned himself away from the searching eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap, I'm just really tired. That's all."

He watched Sasuke nod slowly and turn his attention back to the lecture without any more questions. For some reason it made him a bit sad.

* * *

"I see you're leaving again." Gaara turned his head at the sound to catch the dark eyes of his master.

The way Shukaku stared at him made Gaara feel uneasy and he was very much aware of the sand creeping up his legs, holding him in place. For weeks now he had been leaving as early as he possibly dared and by now his master normally didn't even spare him a glance as long as he returned by dawn.

The sand tightened painfully as his master stepped closer and Gaara tried his best to suppress the rush of dread rising in his chest. If he got himself injured he wouldn't be able to see Naruto.

"You may have that stupid plaything of yours fooled for now but you won't be able to keep it going forever." Shukaku stared him down and the distaste in those eyes made a defensive growl slip out of him. "I can and I will"

Shukaku laughed at him shortly and shook his head slowly from side to side. "It's amusing, this new defiance of yours but think about it, do you _really_ believe he will appreciate finding out that you've been lying to him the whole time, hmm?"

"I never –" Sand immediately silenced his angry response.

"Ah, but you haven't told him the truth either. Have you?"

Something heavy settled in Gaara's stomach at those words. It was true, he had never lied but he never really told the truth either. That was impossible, wasn't it? Naruto would never welcome him back if he found out. But there was no way he would be able to find out… unless someone told him. He raised his head and caught the amused glitter in his master's eyes.

"Thought so." Shukaku smiled coldly at him and Gaara felt the sand trickle away back down to the floor, following the retreating back of its master.

* * *

Naruto had always liked the rain but now it wasn't the rain itself that made him stare out the window. Rainy days most often mean that Gaara would come by and pick him up at school and spend time with him. Most of the times they didn't do much beside walking around talking in the rain but Naruto didn't mind that all they ever seemed to do was talk, just spending time together made him feel like he was getting closer and closer to getting to know his mysterious redhead. Some days though Gaara would take them to a specific place or to see something he deemed special about Konoha.

It was always special; Gaara showed him sides of Konoha he never imagined existed. Like the way when they crept in under the small bridge at Maple Street the rain formed a curtain of water on the sides, completely sealing them away from the outside. Or the way the usually boring concrete buildings in the industrial part of town suddenly appeared to be magically floating as the parking lot outside turned into a mirror of water.

They were all small places and small views like that but they all made Naruto feel so much closer to Gaara when they were there together. Small tokens of trust that bubbled inside him with the thrill of a joint secret, because it was theirs and no one else would ever see Konoha the way they did.

* * *

The gravel on the ground crunched slightly and Gaara felt pity for the unlucky that had just wandered straight in his master's sight. It made him feel sick watching how Shukaku walked up to the stranger and greeted him with a smile on his face. But at the same as time the cold sickness twisted his stomach there was a dark anticipation coursing throughout his blood and he could feel he was watching the scene unfold a bit too intensely to pretend that he was just an innocent bystander.

Unconsciously he licked his lips and waited.

The stranger was tall, seeming almost like a cut-out from a black and white photograph with the way his black clothing and hair contrasted against pale skin. He had a face of fine features that couldn't be described as anything else than handsome and although the deep lines beneath his eyes made him look older it was clear that he was still just a teenager. Surprisingly he didn't seem to be afraid or even remotely surprised by Shukaku's approach.

"Shukaku" The teenagers' voice was calm as he nodded his head in a short greeting, seeming oblivious to Gaara's presence as he kept the full attention of his black eyes on his master.

Shukaku chuckled at this, apparently amused for some reason Gaara could not understand. "Ah, Itachi Uchiha, long time no see. What brings you to my little part of the neighborhood?"

"You're not welcome in Konoha." Itachi turned his hard eyes on Gaara and immediately he understood. The eyes staring at him did not belong to some young human; they were too tired, too knowing… too powerful. Gaara swallowed slowly to calm himself down. This boy who seemed so unafraid and knew his master's name… he was the same as them.

Shukaku's laugh echoed brusquely in the alley. "You and your little gang of friends have no power over me Itachi. Konoha was my home long before any of you came along, I stay as long as I want to."

"Konoha is no place for you anymore _Demon_" Itachi hissed. "There is none of your kind left."

"Oh, but I do believe you're mistaken. I happen to have heard from a _very_ reliable source that despite the years there's still a certain serpent you still haven't managed to lure into your silly little utopia-"

"-Orochimaru is nothing but old lies and poisoned thoughts, an old fool rotting in his own delusions."

Gaara could hear the anger building behind Itachi's words but his master just waved it aside and continued to smile at the stranger.

"That's not the way you should talk about your master Itachi." Shukaku's voice grew dark "The way I remember things the only real traitor is you" he smiled coldly "but I believe we already settled the score for that one, wouldn't you agree _Uchiha_?"

The change was instant and the way charcoal black suddenly bled into crimson made Gaara wish he could shrink out of sight. He had never met anyone else like them before but he knew that this Itachi was dangerous to them if he was old enough to possess that kind of power.

"We might not be able to take you down, that little one is another matter entirely." Itachi still spoke calmly but that did little to lessen the fear crawling up Gaara's spine as those powerful eyes closed in on him.

"And why do you think I care about what happens to him?"

Itachi shrugged. "You seemed to care about the last one. I'm sure the white fang would like nothing more than to tear this one apart as well."

Shukaku immediately dropped his smile and the sand hissed as the armor he carried on him started to move threateningly. "Those mongrels deserved every last bit of what happened to them, and I would not hesitate to repeat my actions." He took a deep breath and the sand stilled. "However, that's all in the past. I've paid for their blood with mine; they have no right to ask for more."

Shukaku turned his back on Itachi. "I'm not here looking for trouble. Tell the Council we'll be gone by morning."

He started walking away and gestured for Gaara to follow.

"There will be no mercy if we find either of you after that." Itachi called after them as they were leaving and Shukaku paused briefly, sending Itachi another one of his cold smiles.

"You won't"

For a long time they walked in silence and Gaara watched how the face of his master slowly transformed from a smile into a predatory grin as he picked up their pace, blurring the outlines of buildings as they passed.

"Move it kid, we lost a good chunk of time thanks to little Itachi and his lollygagging." Shukaku sounded almost bored and Gaara was beyond confused.

"I thought we were leaving?"

Shukaku laughed at him then. "Pfft, of course not. Little Uchiha and his friends are nothing more than a bunch of idealists."

His voice grew serious "Listen kid, Konoha was mine back when it was just a bunch of dirt houses stuck in nowhere, the Council talks big but the moment one of them shown up I'll crush them like flies and they know it…they have all turned their backs on what it is that makes us strong."

"What?"

Gaara half expected to be punished for speaking out of turn but Shukaku just shook his head at the question and stared at him knowingly.

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that one, don't you kid?"

Inside Gaara could feel the dark anticipation from before stirring, telling him that yes, he did know.

* * *

The knock was quiet and if he had been asleep he might have missed it, but as it was Naruto was too excited to fall asleep.

The quiet voice that followed, calling his name made Naruto smile and he sat up to watch the barely there silhouette of his favorite redhead. Gaara was always doing that, waiting for Naruto to actually say it was okay for him to come inside. He thought it was weird at first, but watching the way Gaara always hesitated the first moments made him think that maybe he wasn't used to being welcomed anywhere. It always seemed as if Gaara half expected Naruto to turn him away or throw him out any moment. That was why Naruto had quickly made it a key point to make Gaara feel invited, to make him feel that he was wanted, a verbal invitation was just part of that.

"The window's open…" Gaara's voice was thoughtful and Naruto almost laughed at the puzzled look on Gaara's face as he studied the opened window. Usually Naruto came and opened it for him but he was getting lazy and thought that maybe Gaara would take the hint and just come in on his own. In his cute, very Gaara-ish way, apparently he hadn't.

"I know, it's freezing in here so just get inside and close the damn thing, will ya?"

He couldn't help the warm giddy feeling he had when watching Gaara climb in, close the window and walk over to him in his bed as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Naruto lifted his arm to invite Gaara under the covers, trying very hard to ignore the way those green eyes observed him, not yet sure what that look meant.

The silence was starting to become heavy with uncertainty and Naruto shook his head slightly to disband the feeling. "Hurry, the warmth is getting away." He emphasized his words by lifting his arm up higher and was relieved to see Gaara smirk at him.

"You should have thought about that before opening the window." The humor in Gaara's voice fed the warmth in his stomach and Naruto was glad for the change in atmosphere.

"I blame it on Genma; he made us watch Finding Neverland in English today. It had me thinking that you're sort of like Peter pan. Mysterious redhead climbing windows and all that."

"I suppose that would make you Lena then"

"I guess" Naruto could feel the heat crawling over his cheeks with his answer but Gaara just blinked at him and frowned slightly.

"That's stupid"

He snorted. "Well Sasuke always says I am stupid. Now get in here."

Gaara offered no protests and finally climbed into the bed next to him. He was moving carefully and constantly his eyes flickered up to meet Narutos, as if asking for permission. The uneasiness in green eyes made Naruto move closer to share his own warmth and after freezing up at the sudden closeness he could feel Gaara slowly begin to relax. When all the room was enveloped in the warm feeling of security Naruto didn't hesitate to grab one of Gaara's arms and wrap it around himself as a sign of trust.

Fingertips moved shakily over his skin and Naruto couldn't help to notice that they were surprisingly warm for someone who had just been outside. In fact, all of Gaara was more or less the same temperature as the rest of his room. The fingers stilled and Naruto smiled into quiet green eyes. They were closed off, too much turned inwards for him to sense anything and he sighed slightly before diving headlong into a retelling of the entire movie to keep them both occupied until Gaara had untangled himself from whatever thoughts made him seem so distant.

* * *

Gaara could still see the questions shimmering just beneath Narutos eyes but he never pushed Gaara for an explanation, he never demanded any answers, and for that Gaara was grateful. The thought of making something up to satisfy Narutos curiosity had crossed his mind many times but each time he turned it down. There was something about Naruto that made it impossible for him to lie so instead he kept silent and listened to Naruto talk.

Most of the times this was enough but sometimes Naruto did ask questions, like when Naruto gently touched the scarification on his forehead wondering what it meant and where it came from. Right then it hurt him not having an answer to share with Naruto the way Naruto shared so much every time they met. The sad thing was it wasn't even one of those questions he didn't want to answer, he couldn't. When he said that he didn't know and Naruto told him it was okay, he didn't have to tell if he didn't want to - it hurt because it was the truth. He did not know. Just like with so much else he had no memory of it, he had nothing of his own to share and it had made Naruto sad.

Being who he was had made Naruto sad and he wondered if maybe he should just leave and never come back. Gaara thought that a lot but in the end he always kept coming back because there was something about Naruto, something about himself when he was with Naruto.

When Naruto smiled and was happy – he felt happy.

When Naruto was tired or worried – he worried.

And when those blue eyes turned to look at him _that _way he felt a tingling heat stir inside his chest like a small cocoon just waiting for the right time, the right trigger to finally open.

* * *

The end credits of the movie moved across the screen and Naruto yawned as he took a look at the clock telling him that during the movie tomorrow had turned into today with more than a couple of hours. He yawned and stretched out the kinks in his back after having been cramped up for so long, really it was just by sheer willpower and Sakura being so small, that all three of them fitted in the sofa at once. The remains of their weekly movie night was strewn all over the table and Naruto was pretty sure Sasuke would try to ban cheese doodles after the massive food fight that had broken out somewhere in the middle of the movie resulting in mostly everything being coated in fine golden powder. Sakura seemed to have similar thought as she looked at him from the other side of Sasukes sleeping head.

"Sasuke's gonna freak out when he sees this tomorrow" She giggled silently.

"Hey Sakura?"

"Mmm?"

"How did you know about Kiba?"

"Know what?"

Naruto could hear her interest grow from the way her voice peaked and it was only because of the warm darkness around them that he was able to continue.

"How did you know you liked him?"

The sofa creaked slightly as she sat up and sent him a searching look, pausing slightly as if waiting for him to continue. He didn't. Instead he just stared back at her and tried to not think about how his pulse raced. Sakura was smart, she knew him and would probably figure it out – only he didn't want her to.

Sakura smiled at him then and closed her eyes. "It's like …" she sighed dreamily "I don't know. He always makes me happy. I can be in the foulest mood ever and all he needs to do is to turn up and I would feel happy again. It's hard… some things I guess you just know." Her green eyes opened to pin him in place and she smiled teasingly. "Why? Who do you think you're crushing on?"

"No one, I was just wondering how someone like Kiba manages to get someone like you." he stuck his tongue out for effect hoping it would cover the way his pulse was all over the place.

"Hey" the strike to his arm came fast and hard but still playful. "What's that supposed to mean, I thought we agreed you were over me."

Gingerly he rubbed his sore arm and winced a bit. "You're way too violent for me. It's just he's so…" he waved his arms in the air to try and explain Kiba's quirkiness "…sometimes you know."

She giggled silently "like you're one to talk."

"Whatever, forget it." He turned his attention to the heavy weight on his shoulder that was Sasuke and fished out the marker he had been keeping, just in case, from his pocket. "So… want to give him a moustache?"

Sakura's green eyes flickered from the pen to Sasuke's sleeping face. "Doesn't he have some sort of interview for a school project tomorrow?"

Naruto shrugged. "Yup, so wanna do it or not?"

The grin that spread over Sakura's face as she reached for the pen would have made anyone flee for their lives. Unfortunately for Sasuke, he couldn't.

Sakura's voice was saccharine sweet as she uncapped the marker and winked at him. "You know, I've always imagined he would look great in a goatee."

* * *

The hours he spent away from Naruto always made him restless but with autumn approaching winter those hours grew fewer and fewer.

He found himself not returning to his master for days on end, spending all his time as close to the blond as he possibly could, both longing for and dreading the moment when they could be alone.

Gaara was confused about this. He almost couldn't stand the feeling of not being near Naruto but at the same time, recently he had begun to notice things changing and it frightened him.

Naruto looked at him differently. Not in a hostile way, just… differently than before. It wasn't the same open curiosity of before; these looks were more veiled and only directed at him when he suspected Naruto thought he was unaware. Sometimes it seemed Naruto didn't even know he was doing it until he suddenly zoned back into himself and blinked away that far off look in his eyes with one of his bright smiles.

It unnerved Gaara that Naruto who was always so secure and sure of himself suddenly seemed so unsure. It made no sense.

Well actually, pieced together the right way it did make sense, he _knew _what this meant but refused to see it. Because if he did acknowledged the meaning of what was going on, it would ruin everything. So he just closed his eyes to protect himself from those looks and pretended everything was as it had been in the beginning.

In the beginning when he would still be cautious every time he stepped through the barrier that logically should keep him outside instead of continually inviting him in. In the beginning when Naruto wouldn't touch him with such familiarity… in the beginning when he would shy away from those touches rather than enjoying them.

"_Do you really believe he will appreciate finding out that you've been lying to him the whole time"_

His master's voice echoed cruelly in his mind and Gaara tried to suppress the stab of guilt those words caused.

_ "You won't be able to keep it going forever." _

* * *

"Wow this place is amazing" Naruto's voice was hushed by awe as he walked around the small lookout on top of the Hokage monument. Gaara merely nodded and sat down on the bench, feeling the numerous carved inscriptions from previous visitors underneath his fingertips. During the daytime and sunset the place was often quite crowded with people looking for a break from the busy city below but during the night the place was deserted and the gate to the small pathway up the mountain was closed.

Gaara followed Naruto as he half climbed the fence to get an ever better view trying to get rid of the feeling that there was something wrong. He had wanted to show this to Naruto since it was the most beautiful place in Konoha, the only moment he had ever before his meeting with Naruto felt like he enjoyed the city. But now when they were here he just wanted to go back to the apartment and the city. It was too isolated here and the fact that they were alone made him uncomfortable. There was just too much of the stillness and beautiful calm for him to feel safe.

_What if he lost control? There was no one around for several kilometers, nothing that would interfere or hinder him…_

The nausea settled heavy in his stomach and he had to take a few deep breaths to calm down. He reminded himself of the day they met and how he had been able to feel calm and in control despite the scrapes on Naruto's hands saturating the air with the scent of blood. If he could do that he had nothing to fear now, it wasn't as if this was the first time they were alone with each other. He closed his eyes briefly, he had nothing to be afraid of and he would not let anything bad happen. There was no reason for him to feel so on edge but still there was something in the damp night air that made his heart unable to calm down.

"Wow, I didn't know it could be like this…" Naruto's low voice drew Gaara back to reality and he was struck by the amazed expression on Naruto's face.

"Down there it's all just grey, grey, grey, oh hey look a tree – green, grey, grey, grey. But like this…"Naruto laughed shortly "It looks sort of like a huge cloud of fireflies from up here, like all those lights are just one big happy family… " Gaara watched how the blue in Naruto's eyes dimmed as they glanced over at him before returning to the lights below. "…but that's just from up here, down there everyone is on their own."

Gaara listened to the solemn tone of voice with an increased sense of wrong and nodded slowly in agreement to what Naruto said. The city was very much a place operating according to the law of survival of the fittest. People generally didn't care about anyone outside of their family and friends and that just made Naruto all that much more special. Because he cared.

There was a silent rustle of clothes as Naruto moved closer. Even through the chill of the night Gaara felt the heat seeping into his right side where their shoulders and arms touched.

"I know I promised not to ask any questions, and I won't it's just… I know you're in some kind of trouble and I really want to help you."

The care and determination with which Naruto spoke made that feeling of unease inside him shiver. What could he possibly reply to something like that? Gaara had no idea so he just stayed quiet and tried to ignore his growing urge to run away from the conversation.

"I don't want you to be unhappy! Gaara I- I want – I" He noticed how Naruto tightened his hands into fists and looked up to find those blue eyes burning in a way he had never seen before. "Gaara, I _like_ you."

He should have seen it coming, maybe he even knew that it would but still the words shocked him to the core. Dread and adrenaline pumped throughout his blood and his mind screamed at him that he needed to do something, to say something. He needed to make sure that Naruto knew such a thing was impossible. He needed to untangle himself and disappear once and for all and he needed to do it NOW! But the sound of fear and his panicked heart was drowning out his thoughts and when he opened his mouth all that came out was a whispered "I know".

Gaara was terrified and knew that right now was when he needed to leave Naruto because things had gotten too far out of his control.

But he couldn't do it.

Because he needed Naruto. Because Naruto gave him the strength he needed, but didn't have himself, to be in control. Because Naruto made him feel instead of just operating by orders and cold logic. Because Naruto had eyes the deepest shade of blue he had ever seen. Naruto was light, he was strong and warm. Untainted. Naruto was human, frail and breakable in so many ways and Gaara was powerless to stop him as Naruto leaned in and gently brushed their lips together.

The panic exploded in his chest, and he had to close his eyes in fear of wat might happen, of what he might do. Everything was raw, defenseless and shivering and he couldn't breathe even though the feeling welling up inside made him feel like he was suffocating.

"Gaara, are you crying?"

The soft words spoken too close snapped him back to reality with a shaking gasp and he realized that yes, he was crying. Because he had stepped into Naruto's light without tainting it, instead he was the one burning and it felt amazing.

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter might seem a bit choppy but I wanted to try out something different and give a feeling of time passing without having to use too many of the "one week later" phrases. I'm not sure if I managed to do that and it didn't turn out like what I had in mind (but when does writing ever, right?) but I really love some of the scenes so I decided to keep it the way it is. I'd really appreciate some feedback on this since it's a bit of a writing experiment for me, does the chapter work or is it too jumpy? What scenes did you like best – which ones did you hate?

Thank you so much everyone reading this, especially all of you who have put it on your favs/story alert list. I know things have been extremely slow going but life gets crappy sometimes, we all know that so I'll spare you from the long and boring explanation. Until next time, take care :)


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